My wife's a big fan - she uses them for baking. For me, the walnut harvest happened around the middle of June when I got my green walnuts for making nocino. You quarter the green walnuts and soak them in vodka along with some spices, lemon zest, etc. out in the sun for about 3 months. Then sweeten, strain, bottle, and age until Christmas. Very nice stuff - my production has been ramping up exponentially over the last few years as my wife really likes to give it out as gifts.

Hi Tim!
Here in Stockholm, Sweden, we are just on the northen limit for growing walnuts, but we do in fact have a tree in the garden of my work at the lab where I work at the university. Yesterday I took a look at the tree and the the outer green shell of the nuts is beginning to crack, which is the first sign that harvest is approaching. They still will need a few weeks before they are ready. We have had a warm September, and I hope the ripening will continue to go well. The nuts are smaller than the ones we buy from abroad, but they really have an exquisite taste.
Cheers, Anders

Anders Källberg wrote:Hi Tim!Here in Stockholm, Sweden, we are just on the northen limit for growing walnuts, but we do in fact have a tree in the garden of my work at a lag at the university. Yesterday I took a look at the tree and the the outer green shell of the nuts is beginning to crack, which is the first sign that harvest is approaching. They still will need a few weeks before they are ready. We have had a warm September, and I hope the ripening will continue to go well. The nuts are smaller than the ones we buy from abroad, but they really have an exquisite taste.Cheers, Anders

Well, I just learned something...I wasn't aware walnuts were grown that far to the North. Thanks, Anders

Around where I live the you can see/hear the walnut shakers all over the city and county as they rattle the trees.

You are so fortunate !!! I love cooking with walnuts - savory and sweet - pasta sauce, dipping sauce for vegetables, baked in a cheese souffle, walnut pie etc......I always hesitate because there is nothing worse than a less than fresh nut. A rancid nut will make me sick for days . So....I will have to wait until my English walnut and Carpathian walnut trees begin to bear and fantasize in the meantime.

Hi again!
In fact my walnut harvest began today. I noticed half an empty walnut shell lying on the ground and went to check the tree. There I found several empty green shells on the tree, so I realized that the birds are getting the nuts before me. Also the greeen shells have started to crack a little, which seems to be a sign of ripeness. So I picked some of them and indeed the green shells could quite easily be removed, which I also believe is a sign that they could be picked now. I have only harvested the nuts for three years, so my experience with it is limited and I'm learning by trial and error. Any further information is welcome.

Regarding the birds, last year I did in fact see a bird dropping a walnut from a considerable hight on the ground to crack it open. Amazing how they have been able to figure out this method, in particular since there are very few walnut trees in this part of the world.

Anders Källberg wrote:Regarding the birds, last year I did in fact see a bird dropping a walnut from a considerable hight on the ground to crack it open. Amazing how they have been able to figure out this method, in particular since there are very few walnut trees in this part of the world.

Cheers, Anders

The crows in my area are really quite deft at this procedure. In fact, since we live only a couple blocks away from several walnut orchards, I have observed with amazement how they will drop a walnut in front of a passing car apparently hoping the tire will crush the shell. No kidding.

Sometimes, however, it can be a bit noisy when the birds drop the walnuts on our home's roof. You will wake up to the sound of a bang....then roll, roll, roll. It can be really quite comical at times

Last edited by TimMc on Sat Oct 07, 2006 8:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Christina Georgina wrote:You are so fortunate !!! I love cooking with walnuts - savory and sweet - pasta sauce, dipping sauce for vegetables, baked in a cheese souffle, walnut pie etc......I always hesitate because there is nothing worse than a less than fresh nut. A rancid nut will make me sick for days . So....I will have to wait until my English walnut and Carpathian walnut trees begin to bear and fantasize in the meantime.

Thanks for the info Mike, As far as I could see, I woul d have to order 25lbs to get them, I would never in my short time left be able to use 25lbs of shelled walnuts. Maybe I willl get some black walnut meats this fall though. Have you ever had black walnut?